Ate de MembrilloAte de membrillo is a typical sweet from Mexican gastronomy. It can be described as a sweet, thick, jelly or paste, made ​​from the pulp of quinces. I found out that in English it is referred as “quince cheese” or “quince paste”. Like many Mexican dishes, it has its origin in Spain. In fact the quince tree is from Spain and arrived to Mexico during the colonization. The warm weather of some Mexican states, was the perfect environment for the quince tree to grow very well. Ate de MembriloMy mom was dying to make ate de membrillo. She is from the state of Michoacán, one of the major producers of membrillo (quince). One of her memories as a child in Michoacán, was making ate de membrillo in her aunt’s house. She recalls that it was a very complicated and laborious task. We don’t have the exact recipe because my grandmother hated cooking, so we lost a lot of traditional recipes from my mother’s childhood. Ate de MembrilloMy aunt went on vacation to Morelia last week, and brought some quinces to make our first ate. Between the three of us it wasn’t such a complicated job. To make ate de membrillo you need some time, patience and strong arms. I’m sure you can make some shortcuts using modern kitchen equipment, but we wanted to make it as artisanal as possible. Just how my aunt and mom remember making it in their auntie’s kitchen. The only difference is that we decided to add sugar with Stevia to make it a little bit healthier.  Ate de MembrilloThe usual method to prepare ate de membrillo goes something like this. You must cut the quinces into quarters, removing the stem, and cook until tender. Then you have to crush them and pass through a fine sieve to obtain the pulp of the fruit. The paste is weighed and the same amount of sugar is added, then it’s cook over low heat for 30-40 minutes. Then it is pour into containers to obtain a semi-solid paste when cooled. I took some photos for you to see the entire process: 

Ate de Membrillo preparationAte de membrillo is usually served with a slice of cheese, it can be queso fresco (fresh cheese) or Manchego cheese. It can be eaten by the spoonful or spread into a bread toast. I like the way it tastes with cheese. I think the quince is very acidic so when you combine with the creaminess of the cheese, it makes a perfect balance. Ate de MembrilloAte de membrillo is a traditional Mexican dessert, it is so delicious that it has been prepared for centuries, and still today is one of the most requested Mexican sweets. 

Ate de Membrillo
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Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1 hr 30 min
Total Time
2 hr
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1 hr 30 min
Total Time
2 hr
Ingredients
  1. 15 ripe membrillos (quinces), washed and roughly chopped
  2. 6-8 cups water
  3. Sugar with Stevia
Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan, place the quince and add enough water just to cover the fruit. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and let cook until tender, 30 minutes.
  2. Strain the water. Using a potato masher, mash the quinces. Add the mashed quinces to a strainer and, with the back of a spoon, press so you can obtain the quince pureé. Measure the quince pureé. You are going to add the same quantity of sugar as the amount of quince pureé. (If using sugar with Stevia like we did, reduce the weight of sugar by half. We ended with 1,652 grams of quince puree, so we added 826 grams of sugar with Stevia).
  3. Return the quince puree to the saucepan, add the sugar and cook over low heat. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved completely and the paste becomes very thick. Be careful because the paste starts to make hot bubbles that fly out of the saucepan. The paste is ready when you pass the wooden spoon and it leaves a path, it doesn’t come together immediately.
  4. Pour into small bowls. Wrap with plastic wrap and let it cool completely until it thickens. This can take between 2-3 days.
Sweet Cannela https://www.sweetcannela.com/

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